Groveland, Ca — A group of Groveland area residents have submitted papers to the Tuolumne County Clerks Office stating their intent to ask voters to recall the five members of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School Board.

?We determined that the people who had signed for the recall were legitimate voters in that district,? says County Clerk and Auditor Debi Russell. ?We have sent out letters to the Board members notifying them.?

The recall stems from the Board´s decision to not renew the contract of Tioga High math teacher Ryan Dutton and placing him on administrative leave for allegedly plagiarizing a paper he turned in to receive his teaching credential. The decision has resulted in numerous public protests among students.

Russell notes that there are still several steps that must be taken before a recall election is held. The party must post a public notice in the newspaper and receive approximately 900 signatures per Board member of eligible voters who reside in the district. There are currently around 3,500 eligible voters that fall into that category.